One in four (23%) SMEs plans to export to a new country in the next quarter with 30% of small businesses positive about international growth

The average SME made international payments of £48,000 in Q1, up 5% year on year and the second highest amount recorded in over two years

Figures demonstrate SMEs Post-Brexit contingency planning continues with seven of the top ten regions where payment volumes from SMEs increased located outside the EU

However, almost half (46%) are looking for further support to encourage them to trade internationally, with one in six calling for more government assistance

UK SMEs are gearing up for a new future of international post-Brexit trade as more payments begin to flow outside of the European Union, according to the latest Global Trade Barometer from WorldFirst, the international payments expert.

According to the survey of more than 1,000 small and medium sized businesses, one in four SMEs is looking to export to a new country in the next quarter. Up slightly on Q1 2017, the figures demonstrate how UK businesses have started to come to terms with the ongoing Brexit uncertainty and develop new trading partners beyond the European Union.

The survey also found that 30% of small businesses are now positive about their prospects for international growth, a recovery of 5% from Q4 2017 when confidence was at an all-time low.

UK SMEs increase trade outside EU markets

For those SMEs currently trading internationally, business is booming. The average small business made overseas transfers of £48,000 in Q1 2018 as a result of international trade – up 5% on Q4 2017, and notably the second highest figure recorded by the Global Trade Barometer in over two years.

Both importing and exporting to and from countries outside of the EU, in particular China and the United States, has remained steady throughout the first quarter.

Crucially, of the ten markets that saw the largest growth in payments from UK SMEs in Q1 2018, seven are outside the EU including Turkey, Norway, Morocco, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia and the UAE.

More support needed to capitalise on global ambitions

After a year of negative headlines and downbeat growth projections, many small businesses are now beginning to seize global trade opportunities.

Despite this more confident outlook, almost half (46%) of those surveyed felt that some form of external support would encourage them to export more. Specifically, nearly one in five (18%) are looking for support to find international partners, while 17% want to see the government do more to help them trade overseas.

Forging a new way

In addition to calling for greater support, UK SMEs are also exploring alternative ways to do business to achieve their international trade aspirations.

Almost one in ten (9%) small businesses have or are considering switching from their traditional bank to a fintech provider for their FX transfer needs, while only one in five (22%) have no plans to consider a new way of handling their international finances at all.

Jeremy Cook, Chief Economist at WorldFirst, said: “It is promising to see so many UK SMEs starting to look past their Brexit blues and develop coping strategies to push their exporting aspirations forward.

“The UK government has not been shy in promoting the benefits of building a nation of exporters over the last year, but this survey shows that more needs to be done to support our smaller businesses.

“These SMEs will be our global exporting pioneers post-Brexit and it is vital that the Government and wider industry does all they can to support them. This could mean anything from facilitating connections between UK small businesses and foreign counterparts, to offering advice and training on how to do business and communicate with international trading partners.”

Business prepares for international risk

This new found optimism is echoed by WorldFirst’s own data on client hedging behaviour which identified an increase in contracts across six of the eight most popular currencies traded through the business in Q1.

This increase in activity suggests that as SMEs look to do more business internationally they are also looking to protect themselves against any potential currency fluctuations.

UK SMEs were also found to be diversifying their business in emerging markets with countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East experiencing big increases in payments from the UK.

Jeremy Cook added: “UK SMEs are continuing to look beyond Brexit and refusing to shy away from international trade. By looking to do deals in emerging markets, these businesses are clearly keen for new ways to inspire growth through global expansion and are taking opportunities as they come.

“2017 may have been a year of stagnation for many small businesses but if the trends from Q1 continue, 2018 is setting itself up to be a year of ambition for British businesses.”

Related Items:

Finance Digest is a quarterly Print and Online Publication providing in-depth coverage and analysis of the global financial community covering a wide range of topics from Business, Finance, Banking, Technology, Insurance, Investments, Lifestyle and more.

This website uses cookies We use cookies to enchance your visit and to personalize our content, social media features, ads and to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. You can at any time change or withdraw your consent by clicking on show details. Read our Privacy and Cookie Policy to know more.

Accept

Read more

Change Settings

Cookie Box Settings

Cookie Box Settings

Privacy settings

Decide which cookies you want to allow.You can change these settings at any time. However, this can result in some functions no longer being available. For information on deleting the cookies, please consult your browser’s help function.Learn more about the cookies we use.

With the slider, you can enable or disable different types of cookies:

Block all

Essentials

Functionality

Analytics

Advertising

This website will:

Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting

Essential: Allow session cookies

Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages

Essential: Keep track of what you input in shopping cart

Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account

Essential: Remember language version you selected

This website wont:

Remember your login details

Functionality: Remember social media settings

Functionality: Remember selected region and country

Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken

Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number

Analytics: Keep track on the time spent on each page

Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions

Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.

Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting

Essential: Allow session cookies

Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages

Essential: Keep track of what you input in shopping cart

Essential: Authenticate that you are logged into your user account

Essential: Remember language version you selected

Functionality: Remember social media settings

Functionality: Remember selected region and country

This website wont:

Remember your login details

Analytics: Keep track of your visited pages and interaction taken

Analytics: Keep track about your location and region based on your IP number

Analytics: Keep track on the time spent on each page

Analytics: Increase the data quality of the statistics functions

Advertising: Tailor information and advertising to your interests based on e.g. the content you have visited before. (Currently we do not use targeting or targeting cookies.

Advertising: Gather personally identifiable information such as name and location

This website will:

Essential: Remember your cookie permission setting

Essential: Allow session cookies

Essential: Gather information you input into a contact forms, newsletter and other forms across all pages